


Fairytale

by Anonymous



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 14:10:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20027104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Discontinued





	Fairytale

**Author's Note:**

> Discontinued

Once upon a time, the world was filled with light. 

An era of magic the people called it. Fairies, unicorns, and the occasional rock troll filled the forests, while centaurs and elves sold their wares in the markets along with humans. 

It was into this world of light that Riku came to be. He couldn’t remember how he was born or if he had any parents, but there was a voice that gave him a purpose. Riku couldn’t remember to whom it belonged, but he remembered the words it said:

“ _ From now on, you will watch over the world and keep balance between light and darkness. One cannot live without the other, shadow does not exist without light, so make sure that there is never too much of one kind. Keep the balance, Riku.” _

And so Riku carried out this task for decades. For an eternity, he did simply nothing but watch. He traveled the world, made sure the people were safe, but he never stopped and never got too close, as he feared that the people would be scared of him.

As time passed, he turned from a fledgeling to a fully grown dragon who had mastered the darkness within him. But his job was boring. He did not talk to anyone and there was no reason to. He was told to watch and keep the balance, but there was no threat that could harm the world as of now. 

But on one stormy evening, Riku’s life changed. 

He felt something dark rising from the shadows, something that intended to disturb the balance of light and darkness. He didn’t know where that power came from, but he knew that he had to do something, and so he began to search for the threat that arrived on this world.

They called her “_The_ _Witch of the Darkness_”. Riku didn’t know where she came from, but he could feel the power of darkness rising. It left a bitter taste in his mouth as he saw how she used it to enslave the people of light. Riku did as he was told all those years ago. He tried to keep the balance and fought her.

But the witch, Maleficent, was strong. She overpowered him easily and threw the world into darkness. 

However, Riku did not give up. When the darkness grew, so did his power, which was a fact that Maleficent did not count for. Though she clawed at his body, leaving scars in her wake, Riku managed to fight back, leaving his own scars. Her magic tore a hole in his wing, and Riku managed to focus enough through the pain to throw his own fireball back.

Everything was a haze until the battle was over. He didn’t know how long it had lasted, but it used up almost all of his energy and magic. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more but to rest. 

But he did it. He held off Maleficent long enough. However, the balance was lost. 

The battle had almost destroyed the world. There were only a few lights left. Unfortunately, Riku did not know how to restore the light, he was the dragon of darkness after all. And he was sure that whoever was left would hate him for the damage, even though he fought to prevail the light.

He was out of options and his remaining strength was slowly fading. He looked around to see if there was any place he could rest at, somewhere where he could be alone. And as he traveled, he noticed a small island that was miraculously unharmed by the battle and almost brimming over with light and it looked uninhabited, too.

Although Riku was a being of darkness, he didn’t mind the light. And with his last strength, he decided to fly there and rest, until the world had forgotten about him.

\------

For another few decades, Riku rested on the island. He was mostly sleeping and recovering his magic, but he was faintly aware that people came to inhabit the island. They wouldn’t find him so easily, because he hid in the shadows of a cave, and it didn’t seem like this part of the island was very important to the adults. He mostly heard kids playing outside, their unseen laughter echoing throughout the empty space of the cavern. 

When his strength returned to him, he figured that he could use his power to shapeshift into a human boy. It wasn’t something he had tried before, he figured that he could use a disguise to hide his dragon self, but it proved to be extremely difficult. He could shapeshift into a young boy with silver hair and turquoise eyes, but he couldn’t maintain this form for a very long time, and if he grew frustrated, the black scales would show on his body.

He decided to wait a little longer until his magic was stronger again. He still hadn't recovered to the level of magic he had been before his battle with Maleficent. For now, he could watch and sleep. Recovery took time. He watched the children play in the distance until the sun set, then retreated into his cave again to sleep some more.

He didn’t know for how long he slept, but it didn’t feel like a long time. It was still dark outside when Riku awoke to loud thunder and rain hitting the walls of his cave. Storms weren’t uncommon on the island, and Riku mostly slept through them, but for some reason he couldn’t fall back asleep again. 

Something odd was happening on the island. Riku could feel a new presence, one that did not pose a threat, but it wasn’t one of the kids or the adults he felt coming to the island. Curiously, Riku peeked outside of his cave and noticed a boat sailing towards the shore. The storm swayed the little boat dangerously back and forth on the raging waves and it almost looked like its passengers were going to be swept away. Riku transformed into his human form and ran out to help, not knowing exactly why he was showing himself. But something compelled him to leave his cave and stand at the shore, watching as the small boat finally came closer.

He saw two people who were wearing coats, climbing out of the boat. They looked like they traveled quite a distance and didn’t expect a storm coming up so soon. They were both wet, but it didn’t look like that was just the rain’s fault.

They finally took notice of Riku when he helped them to secure their boat. He noticed that the cloaked figures were a man and a woman and that the woman was carrying something, or rather someone, in her arms.

Riku stared at her curiously and she gave him a tired smile, showing him the bundle that she kept safely in his arms.

“This is my son, Sora,” she told him softly. 

It almost wasn’t audible because of how loud the wind was, but Riku heard her anyway. He looked closer at the bundle and saw that it was a young boy, somewhat smaller than himself, but probably around the same age as his human form. He was sleeping soundly, even though thunder was roaring loudly and would have woken up any sleeping person, unless they were a really deep sleeper. 

“So-ra,” Riku repeated, his own voice sounding foreign to him. He had never spoken a single word before, so it came out a little rough.

“Honey, you shouldn’t just trust a stranger that easily!” the man next to her hissed, but the woman only gave him a tired smile.

“He’s just a child, love. He won’t harm us.”

The man in the coat looked at Riku skeptically and Riku returned the glance. He hoped that his scales weren’t visible, but he was feeling strangely calm today. If he passed for a normal boy everything was good.

“What are you doing here anyway? It’s not safe for a boy like you to be outside in this weather,” the man grunted as he picked up the bag he stored in the boat.

“I live nearby. I saw you needed help,” Riku replied curtly. 

“How nice of you!” the woman chuckled, to which the man only sighed. 

“Well we should seek some shelter from the rain,” he remarked quietly and Riku thought about it.

There was a small treehouse someone built nearby. He hadn’t used it as he was living in a cave, but he could probably lead the couple to it. He felt like it was the right thing to do, so he nodded and said: “I know a place where you can stay.”

“Thank you-- oh! How rude of me. I didn’t ask about your name!” the woman exclaimed.

“I- I’m Riku,” Riku told her. He should have come up with a fake name, after all he didn’t know these people, but the woman’s smile didn’t falter.

“Riku? That’s a pretty name. Alright, please lead us somewhere dry.” 

Of course they wouldn’t recognize his name. He was once known as the dragon of the night, but he never told anyone his name. He wondered how much time had passed since he last traveled through the world. How did it look now after so many years since the fated battle? And why did these three come to the island in the first place? It didn’t look like they weren’t planning to stay.

Riku wanted to ask, but he knew that he shouldn’t. This wasn’t his business so he shouldn’t stick his nose into it.

Before he knew it, they arrived at the treehouse. It was located high atop a big tree and had a ladder nailed into it so that it wouldn’t fly away in the wind.

Riku let the adults climb up first, before he followed them. It was a nice little place and big enough for two people to live in it.

“Let’s rest here for a while,” the woman decided. There weren’t any furnishings, sans for a few sitting pillows, but it was safe from the rain at least.The woman sat down on one of the pillows, while the man decided to rest against a wall. Riku politely gave the family space, staring out the window. Soon though, he heard soft snores behind him. Turning, he saw that the man had fallen asleep. The woman caught his gaze, indicating that he should come over. Cautiously, he approached, taking a seat when she indicated that he could.

The woman put the boy into her lap and uncovered his body from the coat he was wrapped into. He made a soft noise in protest, but continued to sleep undisturbed.

Riku noticed that he had brown hair, tanned skin and freckles covering his face. He looked so peaceful.

“What happened?” Riku asked quietly as he looked at Sora and then back to his mother.

She put a hand on her son’s cheek, sighing softly. “He was cursed. He wouldn’t have survived if we didn’t bring him here.”

“Cursed?” 

“A powerful witch saw a threat in him. We don’t know the circumstances, but it wasn’t safe for Sora. But then we were told to go to this island, that he would be safe here if he didn’t leave. And it’s so full of light, maybe it will really keep him safe,” Sora’s mother explained.

Riku furrowed his brows. A powerful witch? Someone told them about this island? That was strange. Nobody knew of this place and there was only one witch he battled a long, long time ago, but she should have succumbed to the darkness. It couldn’t be the same person, could it? Of course he couldn’t ask them that. To them, he looked like a normal boy. 

“Then, what are you going to do?” Riku wondered and looked back at Sora again.

The woman pulled Sora close to her chest, hugging him gently. “We can’t stay with him. He will be safe here until we find a way to break the curse, but if he leaves with us, he won’t survive.”

Riku could her sadness in her voice. How heartbreaking must it be to leave her son behind, knowing they couldn’t see him growing up. They wouldn’t even know if he could live here all on his own. 

“I’ll protect him!” Riku wondered why he promised that, but something told him to protect this boy. It was probably an instinct or maybe related to his balance keeping duties, which he had neglected ever since the battle with Maleficent.

“You will?” Sora’s mother sounded surprised. And Riku nodded. 

“I’ll keep him here, promised.”

She looked relieved at that and covered Sora with a coat again to let him sleep some more.

“He’s a very energetic boy and full of surprises. I hope you two get along,” she whispered softly and kissed Sora’s forehead, a single tear streaming down her cheek. Then she shook her husband awake and quietly explained the situation to him. 

Riku thought that he would face resistance from Sora’s father, but he quietly squeezed Riku’s shoulder after saying goodbye to Sora. 

“Oh, before we leave! I have a gift for you, Riku,” Sora’s mother pulled something out of her small bag she kept around her hip. It was a silver necklace in the shape of a crown.

“That will keep your scales hidden,” she winked and Riku blushed, a hand flying immediately to his neck. Indeed, he felt his scales on his neck, which were probably noticeable too, and he cursed himself for not being careful enough. Riku thought they would only appear if he was angry or frustrated, but they seem to appear in any emotional situation. 

Fortunately, it seemed that no one minded and he quickly put the necklace on.

He still accompanied them to their boat at the shore and noticed that the storm had finally calmed down. It was now safe enough to travel and Sora’s father untied the boat, pushing it into the water. 

“Keep him safe, dragon boy,” Sora’s mother said and squeezed Riku tightly, who was a bit too surprised by the act and awkwardly returned the hug. Then she joined her husband and climbed into the boat, waving at Riku as they sailed away.

He slowly and hesitantly waved back and watched the sunrise, until he could no longer see the boat. Then he picked up some fruits on his way back to the treehouse and climbed up the ladder, only to find Sora absent from his previous spot.

Riku let the fruits fall in shock and climbed down the ladder again to look for the boy. At first he wanted to shout his name, but decided not to scare him away if he was nearby.

The island wasn’t that very big and he couldn’t leave so easily anyway. Riku decided to just jog through the island and eventually found Sora at the beach, staring into the distance. When he heard Riku approaching, he quickly whirled around and Riku noticed the tears in his sea-blue eyes.

The sad expression on Sora’s face only lasted for a second, before he wiped his tears away with his arm and smiled at Riku, running up to him.

“Hi! Do you live here on this island? I’m Sora! Who are you?” Sora asked, grabbed Riku’s hand and shook it eagerly.

Riku only had the chance to tell Sora his name, before the brunette dragged him away from the shore. 

“I’m hungry! Do you know what I can eat here, Riku? And what else is on this island? Let’s explore!” Sora babbled and made Riku smile.

He already liked this boy and thought that he would have no problems with getting along. Sora was a ball of energy, maybe that would keep Riku entertained. 

“Alright. I picked up some fruits and brought them to the treehouse. We should eat something first, before we explore the island. Wouldn’t want you to get lost,” he teased.

“Me?! Getting lost?! Never!” Sora exclaimed and pouted but he soon joined Riku’s laughter and followed him to the treehouse.

That was when Riku gave himself a new purpose. He would now only keep this boy safe, but he would also try to keep Sora away from unhappy things so that he could see him smiling. He thought that Sora had a very beautiful smile. It shone as brightly as the sun, and it filled Riku with a foreign feeling.

_ Happiness. _

Riku realized that he didn’t know true happiness before he met Sora, but with him now being here his dark and boring life was now filled with color and he hoped that it wouldn’t change.

But of course, fate had other plans...


End file.
